Montreal

The Panthers got their captain back Saturday with the inspiring return of Ed Jovanovski from hip surgery. They may get another boost on the blue line with Erik Gudbranson returning from orbital bone surgery, possibly as soon as Monday in Montreal. Gudbranson practiced Sunday wearing a full face cage before the team left for a three-game trip. Interim coach Peter Horachek said the big defenseman will need to wear the protection for a while but was hopeful of having him in the lineup as the Panthers seek their third win in less than a month against the Canadiens.

A 16-year-old Jonathan Huberdeau would have understood if Gerard Gallant had better things to do. Huberdeau was new to the Saint John Sea Dogs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Getting playing time, along with improving, were Huberdeau's objectives. Coach Gallant understood. He threw Huberdeau into penalty-kill and power-play situations if there was a wide enough margin. "He could have said you're 16 and you won't play as much and have gave me the opportunity," said the Panthers left winger.

I missed Of Montreal's Dec. 6 concert at Fort Lauderdale's Revolution Live, and everyone who did go and told me about it made me sorry I didn't attend. It's some consolation to know the Athens, Ga., psychotropic indie-pop ensemble is playing Late Show with David Letterman tonight (11:35 p.m., WFOR - Ch. 4, WPEC - Ch. 12). And let me add as a point of completely unearned pride, Of Montreal's bass player is a nephew of one of my co-workers. So in some distant way, the band's triumph is also mine, no?

Eric Afriat brooded Monday night about missing his mother's Passover celebration in her West Boca Raton home, and considered ditching his seat in a Hollywood poker tournament. Monday night's poker session went especially late, running from noon until 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, and he said he grew more glum as the hours ticked on. He thought of his extended family and whether the hours at the table were worth it. "Here I was moving up the ladder in a big poker tournament, yet I kept getting more depressed," he said.

The sting is still evident as Pierre Arsenault recalls the memories. He can't utter the names of Mike Schmidt and Rick Monday without a flinch. In 1980, Schmidt's two-run, 11th-inning homer in the season's second-to-last game at Olympic Stadium clinched the division for the Phillies. Philadelphia and Montreal had entered the weekend tied for first place. The following year, Monday's two-out, ninth-inning blast in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series broke a 1-1 tie and helped deliver the Dodgers to the World Series.

FRIDAY 09: OF MONTREAL Glam is too facile a word to describe the spectacle that is Of Montreal. Sure, the band's members wear Day-Glo clothing, outrageous makeup and flamboyant military costumes -- that is, when they're wearing anything at all -- but Of Montreal is simply glam as much as David Bowie is simply eccentric. Created in late '90s Athens, Ga., by the theatrical singer Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal performs music that is rooted in psychedelic rock but not bound by it. Disco, pop, funk, folk and electro all have received the Of Montreal treatment, and only the Flaming Lips present a wilder stage show.

The Montreal Expos begin training camp today at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium under second-year manager Buck Rodgers. Pitchers and catchers report at 10 a.m. "Like first-year managers I was a little apprehensive going into my first year, especially with a club that had a couple of down years," Rodgers said at the Expos` Holiday Inn headquarters. "This year I know exactly what I have to work with. We feel we`ve made the additions and subtractions that were necessary. Now we`re going into a situation where we do have some young players.

Dancer Margie Gillis of Montreal will make her South Florida debut at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the City Centre Theatre, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs. Gillis, who arranged much of the choreography herself, will perform to music ranging from the works of J.S. Bach to Tom Waits. For ticket information, call the City Centre Box Office, 344-5990, or Ticketmaster, 523-3309.

Visitors to Montreal can now find many services under one roof at Infotouriste in Dorchester Square. The center, which occupies two floors of a renovated landmark building, offers municipal, provincial and national tourist information, as well as currency exchange, automobile rentals, a souvenir shop and counters where people can buy tickets for tours and cultural events. Infotouriste, at 1010 Catherine St. West (1-514-872-8162) is open daily, with longer hours in summer months.

MONTREAL -- Baseball in this town is a puzzlement. The owner wants to sell, star players who have been here have wanted out and star players who aren`t here don`t want in. The problems are numerous: high taxes, lines at Customs, mediocre seasons, low attendance, a constant shuffling of players. Perhaps worse, players complain they have trouble living the lives they`ve been used to in the United States. Even the little things, like difficulty in finding ketchup and some kinds of snack foods, or not being given ice cubes in drinks, drive them nuts.

Former Miami Dolphin Chad Johnson signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on Thursday, according to the team's official Twitter account. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, 36, last played in the NFL in 2011 with the New England Patriots. Johnson, who once changed his last name to Ochocinco, was cut by the Dolphins in training camp in 2012 after he was charged with domestic battery.

South Florida was cold for a portion of last week but it was a lot warmer here than back home for the 15 college students and two leaders from Hillel in Montreal who spent a week of their winter break building a Habitat for Humanity home in east Boynton Beach . The Jewish community helped out by providing kosher meals for the students. After Habitat for Humanity called the Alpert Jewish Family and Children's Service in West Palm Beach, two administrators at the agency made personal donations of kosher food and contacted other Jewish organizations to provider kosher meals.

Morning skate news Icy drive from Burlington, Vermont to Montreal took about two hours, but made it in time for morning skate. Only skidded once. Even the border guy looked at me like what was I doing on the road? Erik Gudbranson will team with Ed Jovanovski, wearing a full caged helmet to protect his left eye after his recent orbital bone surgery. Drew Shore made the trip but it looks like he and Scott Gomez will be scratched. Montreal press were waiting around for Gomez, but not sure if he got him. Peter Horachek bristled when Montreal reporter asked him why Gomez isn't in the lineup.

The Panthers got their captain back Saturday with the inspiring return of Ed Jovanovski from hip surgery. They may get another boost on the blue line with Erik Gudbranson returning from orbital bone surgery, possibly as soon as Monday in Montreal. Gudbranson practiced Sunday wearing a full face cage before the team left for a three-game trip. Interim coach Peter Horachek said the big defenseman will need to wear the protection for a while but was hopeful of having him in the lineup as the Panthers seek their third win in less than a month against the Canadiens.

Canadiens at Panthers When/Where: 5 p.m., BB&T Center, Sunrise TV: FSF; Radio: 560-AM Scouting report: The Panthers are 2-3-3 in second games of back to backs, while the Canadiens, who were in Tampa Saturday, are 5-3, including a 2-1 loss to the Panthers on Dec. 15 in Montreal in which Nick Bjugstad notched the game winner and G Scott Clemmensen earned the victory. Montreal is 6-4 in its last 10 games and in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens have 28 goals on the seventh-ranked power play compared to the Panthers' 30th-ranked unit and 14 goals.

Already handicapped with their starting goalie on injured reserve, the Panthers began a grueling Canadian tour Sunday missing a key component of their offense. Jonathan Huberdeau had played in all 81 games since beginning his career last season. A swollen foot from a shot in the third period of Friday's win over Washington kept him from performing in his hometown. That didn't prevent the Panthers from getting this difficult four-game stretch off on the right foot with a 2-1 victory over the Canadiens.

Marlins bullpen coordinator and Montreal native Pierre Arsenault has been through this before. Today won't be the first time he arrives at Olympic Stadium wondering whether it's his last series there. This time his sense of finality is cemented. "I got to see some of the people that work with the team," Arsenault said of the Expos' South Florida visit last week. "I was surprised because these people have always said every year, `You know how Major League Baseball works. We'll be back next year.

Until Tuesday's 3-0 shutout of his hometown Canadiens, Roberto Luongo had never won in Montreal. One reason might be that when the Panthers' goaltender comes to Montreal, everybody wants a piece of him -- friends, family and especially media. Not only did he grow up in Montreal, but he was a wildly popular junior star at Val d'Or of the Quebec League. But Monday night and Tuesday, Luongo did his best to limit the distractions. Luongo decided "that I can't please everybody" and declined four one-on-one interview requests.

Panthers at Canadiens When/Where: 6 p.m., Bell Centre, Montreal. TV: FSF Radio: 560-AM Scouting report: The Panthers have won four of their last five after outlasting Washington for a 3-2 shootout win on Friday. G Scott Clemmensen stopped the Capitals' final six shootout attempts to earn his first win of the season. … Sunday's game against Montreal is the first meeting between the Panthers and the Canadiens this season and the first of four consecutive games in Canada for the Panthers, who next travel to Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Canadian travel company Sunwing will again increase service between Fort Lauderdale and Montreal for the year-end holiday season following a successful run of the extended schedule last year. Sunwing plans to add Sunday flights between the cities Dec. 22-Jan. 19. That's on top of its current direct service several times per week between Fort Lauderdale and Toronto, Quebec City and Montreal, the company announced recently. Flights to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are aboard Sunwing Airlines and include a free checked baggage.